Ukraine Aims to Get Into the Good Clubs

I recently saw this execrable posting by Charley Reese on LewRockwell.com (as reprinted in the Action Ukraine Report). It was answered in the AUR by this much better posting.

Among its many, many faults, the orignial article by Reese contains the following statement:
"The reason [the kind of government Ukrainians have doesn't concern us] is quite simple: At the end of the Cold War, the Russians withdrew all of their nuclear weapons from Ukraine. Our relations with Russia matter because they concern the question of war or peace; our relations with Ukraine don't matter because there is nothing Ukraine can do for us or to us."

What most surprised me about this posting is how much it resembles the ideas of many Ukrainian armchair generals. I've heard dozens of people tell me that getting rid of its nukes was the worst decision Ukraine ever made, because now no one pays any attention to the country. The real question, then, is whether or not they are right.

A nuclear weapon in modern international relations is like a switchblade knife in a bar. It gets you attention, but not interest, and neatly eliminates all other possible ways of interacting with people. If you bring a weapon, all of the good bars will kick you out, and if you do manage to get into one, you're not going to be doing deals with any legitimate businessmen.

The US, France and China don't need to bring their weapons to any meetings; people want to do business with them. The Netherlands, Canada, and Australia don't need nuclear weapons, are unlikely to ever get nuclear weapons, and still get invited into all the good clubs. Iran is the kind of country looking for the bomb: a country unwilling to advance through economic or democratic progress and looking for a shortcut to getting its way in international relations. This action is not taken by Iranians themselves, but by their government, and will, if carried out, be greatly to the detriment of ordinary Iranians.

By giving up its nuclear weapons, Ukraine committed irrevocably to a strategy of gaining prominence through economic, political, and national progress. If people pay attention to Ukraine now, they do so for its successes or opportunities in business, for its interesting history and natural splendor, and even, surprising us all, for an amazing protest that has furthered their own democratic process and reminded us all how important democracy is. If the rest of the world viewed Ukraine with the bored disinterest Reese obviously does, his statements might have had weight. However, Ukraine is a well-educated nation with lots of potential in many respects. Foreign countries are just beginning to take greater note of Ukraine, but are doing so for reasons much more valuable to ordinary Ukrainians than national threats.

In giving up their nuclear weapons, Ukrainians have chosen the longer, harder path, but this path eventually leads to success, rather than the seedy dives of world society.